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First
Impressions
Once I got through setting up my mouse, I was impressed
that initially anyway, things seemed to work. The beta
has the same default blue background which is still boring
but it was a solid release for beta 2.
New
Install Option:
Now you can install all the CD or DVD contents onto the
computer during install. Yea...this is a cool idea that
will save you on scratched disks and trying to find disks
your dog ate. It really makes sense since most users have
large drives anyway.
Emacs:
Emacs
editor on the panel. Now there is nothing wrong with Emacs
on the panel but as a default there will be a lot of users
wondering how to use this program. I removed it easily
enough.
Mouse
Config:
Mandrake has always had a good reputation for hardware
detection but I had terrible times with my Dell Inspiron
8200. It just would not detect the mouse correctly. I
tried the touch pad...no luck, I tried the USB mouse which
is a Logitech, nothing. So I moved to a terminal session,
Ctrl+Alt+F2, logged in as a user then su root. When I
was root I ran mouseconfig. However, using USB or touchpad
configurations I could not get the mouse to work.. When
I switched to a PS2 mouse, which I do not have, it worked...
This may be an issue but I did not see any listed in bugzilla.
KDE
3.3.2
The menu flew in, nice idea, but it said KDE 3.2. However,
the beta is really running KDE 3.3.2, I am sure they will
get that changed as they get closer to release.
OpenOffice
1.1.4
The beta had some mandrake tweaks done to OpenOffice in
terms of icons and introduction. Great to see they are
keeping up with the newest OO version. The touches that
they have done will help users make the transition from
Office to Openoffice.
Gimp
2.2
No noticeable changes in the GIMP but it is an updated
version. This is a great program and is invaluable when
you learn how to use it.
Mandrakeonline:
Upload your database of programs so that you can be informed
of security issues. For $21.95 you can be personally notified
of security issues...naw, think I will pass. Mandrake
may be pushing their desire to be profitable a little
too far with this idea. I
suspect charging for personal updates will not be too
well received.
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What's
New
Mandrake
keeps talking about rebuilding the features in Control
Center, but not much is new so far.
*kernel
2.6.10
*Glibc 2.3.4 and gcc 3.4.3
*New KDE 3.3.2 is compiled with the '-fvisibility=hidden'
option of gcc to accelerate the linkage step at the program
start (this option hides all the internal symbols of the
application and eases the linker work to start the binary),
*the latest version of Gnome 2.8.1, as well as GTK 2.6.1.
*New features during the installation procedure, including
a new, more efficient package-processing algorithm and
the capability to copy all packages to the hard drive
before installation completion. Installation may boot
from a USB key
* Mozilla-firefox replaces Mozilla Gimp 2.2, cdrecord
2.01.01a21 with DVD+R Dual Layers support
* OpenOffice.org 1.1.4
* Postgresql 8.0
* MySQL 4.1.9
* new tool: Drakstats
Setup
the panel as transparent and get a different background
and the desktop starts to look usable, not barren like
the default.
Emacs
on the Panel by Default?
Icons
look good and clear.
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